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Reclaim All Hallows’ Eve [Ecumenical]
CE.com ^ | October 31.2013 | Sean Fitzpatrick

Posted on 10/31/2013 6:59:06 PM PDT by Salvation

Reclaim All Hallows’ Eve

by Sean Fitzpatrick on October 31, 2013 ·

 

Halloween poses a serious concern to Catholic families nowadays. Besides various occult inspirations, many Catholics are uneasy with Halloween’s ostentatious glorification of ugliness and evil. Also distressing are the prevalent trends of psychosis, vulgarity, and violence.

What conscientious parent would not be wary?

Even with such adversity, it is still possible to align Halloween with the inheritance of Christian culture. Once Catholics consider—perhaps in desperation of the times—what Halloween can be, its restoration is arguably a duty.

Though many elements of Halloween have branched into unholy and unhealthy regions, its root sleeps in sacred ground. Both the feast and the vigil of All Saints Day have been observed since the early eighth century, instituted by Pope Gregory III; and Pope Gregory IV applied them to the Universal Church. Families of faith frequently attempt to awaken this hallowed origin by instructing children to pray for the Holy Souls in purgatory and to invoke the patronage of the Holy Saints in heaven. Such activities are, without doubt, laudable as they encourage a traditional awareness and attitude by turning the minds and hearts of children toward eternal things. Moreover, as a compromise with the cultural demands of celebrating Halloween, All Saints Day costume parties have become quite fashionable—if not the only respectable thing to do.

While these lighthearted vigils of the feast are unobjectionable in themselves, such celebrations modify in principle the vision of the Church’s liturgical observations and theological mores leading up to and flowing from Halloween.

After the feast of Pentecost, the liturgical calendar enters into the period of the Church on earth, moving towards the consummation of all things in Christ. Preceding the culminating celebration of Christ the King comes the festival of All Hallows Eve and the feasts of All Saints and All Souls. It is in this time of gathering, of harvest, that the Church places “Hallowe’en” in the drama of human salvation. Halloween offers a fitting occasion for the beginning of the Church Militant’s liturgy of the faithful departed, representing man’s mortality and his longing for eternal life.

The value of any Christian tradition lies in its pedagogical influence. The implication of Halloween is that death precedes the possibility of saintly glory and the redemptive suffering of purgatory. Of course death is the result of sin, but Halloween can portray it as the precursor to new life by its liturgical placement. Furthermore, the power of grace is only known in comparison to evil; and conversely the horror of evil is only grasped in light of what is good, true, and beautiful. In this way, Halloween ghouls can recall the darkness of error as well as mankind’s fulfillment in Christ.

Thus, Halloween can depict a vital element in the re-enactment of salvation history. Although it is not an official holy day, as it evokes fallen nature and fallen creation, it can be informed by the liturgical rhythms of man’s deliverance from the demonic. Linked to All Saints and All Souls, Halloween imagery presents an integral illustration of the human passage and the consequence of Christ. Without death, there would be no saints in heaven or souls in purgatory. Without Christ, man would have no right to ridicule the devil. Halloween offers a comic, cultural expression of the truths that comprise man’s participation in Christ’s Resurrection.

Halloween pageantry proclaims that death is stripped of his sting since the dominion of hell has been overthrown. The victory of the Resurrection and the glory of the saints come forth from death and the destruction of the power of sin. Halloween celebrates Christ’s triumph through parody—or exultant mockery—subjecting the symbols of the grave to satirical derision. Witches, devils, ghouls, skeletons, and such spooks become caricatures of an impotent evil. Followers of Christ are conquerors, and no longer slaves, of these elemental creatures. There is no fear in them, which Halloween rejoices in.

The pantomime of saints, on the other hand, diminishes this dramatic representation of the mystery of redemption from death to new life. Admittedly, no one can argue against honoring the saints, whose feast comes the next day. Nevertheless, such practices underline an unfortunate lack of understanding as to what Halloween masquerades can liturgically signify: the victory over death and the subservience of evil. Only a partial account of salvation exists without the garish jesters of Halloween.

Such symbolism is not a glorification of evil, but an acknowledgment of it. Evil should be assigned a similar role through Halloween as it has in gothic cathedrals—the architectural icons of order and harmony in creation, where even the devil has his place. Images of evil are man’s to ridicule as dethroned. Saints and angels cannot teach the theological truth of the dragon and the gargoyle. Halloween, if true to this purpose, debases the macabre by playful ritual. The eradication of ghosts and goblins from Halloween does not perforce safeguard the spiritual and the holy. Though often dismissed as uncouth, fiends and phantoms are emblems of spiritual warfare—and of the victory already won in Christ. Without such reminders, communities may be lulled to sleep, allowing the reality of evil to become more powerful in the neglectful silence.

The “baptism” of pagan or even neutral festivals is a duty of Christian culture: to orient the objectives and perspectives of problematic social events towards the Faith, and claim another celebration for Christ on earth. Since the festivities of Halloween are so established, it behooves Catholics to defend their children and their Faith from corruption by replacing base freakishness with the flair of the spiritual. But there is no need to Christianize what is already Christian. The Halloween challenge lies in drawing the emphasis away from sheer terror, and towards mystery, merriment, and the miraculous. Believers must not fear death, whose faith resists those influences that declare death ultimately fearful.

Catholic parents should, in this spirit, combat the secular and satanic plagues that currently infect the traditions of All Hallows Eve, choosing between the trick and the treat. Let Halloween retain its howling ghosts, but re-align and re-order its purpose and iconography so that it may become a stepping-stone for children to grow in familiarity with the Holy Ghost.

Editor’s note: this article was originally published in Crisis Magazine on Oct 4, 2013 and is reprinted here with permission. 



TOPICS: Catholic; Current Events; History; Theology
KEYWORDS: catholic; ordinarytime; saints
Join in boycotting the evil of All Hallows and move your family toward the holy ones -- All Hallows.
1 posted on 10/31/2013 6:59:06 PM PDT by Salvation
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To: All
Reclaim All Hallows’ Eve [Ecumenical]
Halloween and Catholicism
Traditional Catholic Sacrifice of the Holy Latin Mass on Halloween Night
Faith Facts: All Hallows' Eve
Be Not Afraid: The Surprisingly Holy Origins of Halloween

Hallowe'en (with facts and recipes)
How Halloween Can Be Redeemed (from Catholic Update)
History of Halloween
Bishops’ Halloween Advice: Dress Children Up as Saints, Not Witches
Halloween (CNA Video)
All Hallows' Eve
Celebrating 'All Hallows Eve' and the 'Feast of All Saints' in a Pre-Christian West
Halloween Prayers: Prayers and Collects for All Hallows Eve
Holiday Hysteria (a Christian defense of Halloween)
Hallowe'en - Eve of All Saints - Suggestions for Reclaiming this Christian Feast

2 posted on 10/31/2013 7:01:00 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

I went to Mass tonight but I’m also okay with us imitating and ridiculing those we fear such as devils and witches and Obama.


3 posted on 10/31/2013 7:04:26 PM PDT by Mercat
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To: Salvation

Well anything the devil does, God can do better because He can do it with pure righteousness.

I’d say why not costumes of things that represent good things that Christians can do. Not axe murderers, say, but doctors and nurses. Or construction men or plumbers. Even hunters.

And instead of trick-or-treat, go out with a God Bless You and, while accepting the treats if offered, pass out gospel tracts to the homes. (Yeah I’m a Crazy Evangelical.)


4 posted on 10/31/2013 7:38:23 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (The Lion of Judah will roar again if you give him a big hug and a cheer and mean it. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Not bad ideas, but I would pass out Catholic literature.

Our kids at the Mass tonight dressed up like a saint.


5 posted on 10/31/2013 9:06:40 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

I wouldn’t expect “faithful Catholics” to come at it from a different angle...

Still, ultimately Christ is quite independent of any earthly worship community and the minute they start to say they have a monopoly on him... oops they don’t.


Don’t Try to Put the Lion of Judah in a Cage

Don’t try to put the Lion of Judah in a cage —
He’ll only break out of it though the nations rage!
He’s almighty God, the same from age to age;
Don’t try to put the Lion of Judah in a cage!

The Lion of Judah is nobody’s pussycat —
For when you fall, for you He steps right up to bat!
You’ll never, ever find another hero like that!
The Lion of Judah is nobody’s pussycat!

Don’t be afraid when powers of darkness come to roar —
The Lion of Judah chains them down forever more!
But with your spirit in His hands your praises will soar;
Don’t be afraid when powers of darkness come to roar!

Do everything you can to love this Lion dear —
When you do what He wants you needn’t have a fear!
So listen for His voice and keep an open ear;
Do everything you can to love this Lion dear!

No one can keep the Lion of Judah in a cage —
Not the highest king and not the lowest page!
While His Spirit holds your soul you’re safe from age to age!
No one can keep the Lion of Judah in a cage;
No one can keep the Lion of Judah in a cage!

(HTRN, 2013)


6 posted on 11/01/2013 8:46:03 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (The Lion of Judah will roar again if you give him a big hug and a cheer and mean it. See my page.)
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To: Salvation
You should have a party.
7 posted on 11/02/2013 9:58:55 AM PDT by ronnietherocket3 (Mary is understood by the heart, not study of scripture.)
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